Black Silk
by the bauble
Summary: But how could she, how could they, rejoice tonight? Tonight, of all nights? Of course, she knew something that they did not. One Shot


She blamed insomnia. It was the easiest thing to blame. Of course, she could have blamed the air she breathed, the grass that grew a little too green, the days that the sun shone too bright. She could have blamed death, or even life. The whole world, even, if she wanted to.

But insomnia was the easiest. The easiest that made sense. Or at least seemed to. Nothing made sense anymore. Nothing at all.

The light summer breeze tossed her hair. She didn't bother to brush it out of her eyes. She didn't care. As the stars twinkled, almost teasingly, reminding her of the pain they _didn't _have to go through, but she _did_, she clasped her hands around her legs tighter.

It wasn't fair. But whenever was it?

She didn't bother to answer the question. Answering rhetorical questions was pointless, even if- especially if- she had asked them herself. It defeated the purpose.

Shivering, she glanced back up to the sky. There was no moon to shine, leaving the night as a sheet of black silk, dotted with jewels. The black silk, black as the days ahead of her and the rest of the world, black as her soul felt.

Below her, beneath the roof of the house, people were celebrating. She could hear it, even at her distance from the group. But she could not say they were doing wrong. A marriage was something to celebrate, was it not? She knew she should be with the rest of them, happily forgetting the woes of the world for at least one night. It would do her good. But how could she, how could they, rejoice tonight? Tonight, of all nights?

Of course, she knew something that they did not. Tomorrow, the house would be a bit emptier. At dawn, three members would depart. It was not known when they would return, or even if they would at all.

The young woman scolded herself. She couldn't think that way. Who knew how it could affect everyone in the long run? It could be the difference between a win and a loss. Between good and evil_. Between living in eternal black silk, or actually seeing the birth of a new day. _

This thought left her near frightened. She began to compose a list in her mind. One to throw off these bad thoughts. _What I am not afraid of… _

_Spiders, fighting, Slytherins. _The last one made her give a slight smile.

_Death…_ Was she really not afraid of that? She didn't stop to reconsider.

_Life, love... _That was debatable. Love had caused her great joy, as well as great pain.

_"Ginny, um, will you dance with me?" Harry asked nervously. _

_She took a deep breath. "Why? We are not tied together anymore, why should I?" Saying that hurt so much. Part of her hoping it hurt him just the same._

_"Because- oh, Ginny, I'm so sorry, it's just-" _

_"Save it. I'm actually feeling quite tired; I think I'll head to bed." _

_"This early? Really, Ginny-" _

_"Don't question me. You lost that right." She walked off, leaving him stunned. _

But she couldn't sleep. The insomnia wouldn't let her. And she didn't think it would any time soon.

_"Come down, Ginny. The reception's hardly started." _

_"No Hermione. I can't, I can't face him. I can't take it right now." _

_Hermione watched her sadly, but slowly closed the door. _

She could still hear her friend descending back down the stairs, the sound of her footsteps disappearing. _Disappearing into nothingness, into black silk. _

She saw a shooting star go by, and blinked in surprise. _Could something as sweetly simple as a shooting star exist still? _

Another rhetorical question. Her mind seemed to be full of them today. She was getting quite reflective, something abnormal for her. But was it really that abnormal anymore? For now, the entire wizarding community was reflective on life, seeing as theirs could be taken any moment.

_Creeeeaaaak. _She heard the whispering of voices. She pushed the extra material from her night gown away as she bent over the edge of the roof to see what was going on. Last time she had checked, everyone was inside, and was going to stay there. Unless…

"Come on, guys." Wait… that was Harry's voice… She squinted, and saw the man she loved, and yet who would not return her love, standing in the dark.

"Hold on, Hermione's only just _quadruple-checking_ to see if we have everything." Ron. Her brother. The git who wouldn't tell Hermione he liked her as more than a friend.

"Do shut up Ronald." The three voices, being carried up by the wind, sounded like the soft sound of a murmuring brook.

She had slightly suspected that they would leave when not planned. If only she could go with them.

_"…after Bill and Fluer's wedding" Hermione was saying._

_"Really? I thought we hadn't planned a day," Ron said._

_She thought this to be the perfect time to intervene. "I can come then," She said upon entering the room. She made sure to keep her gaze anywhere except for Harry._

_"Of course not Ginny! You don't even know where we're going!" her brother exclaimed. _

_"Well I don't want to go back to Hogwarts. It won't be the same." _

_"It doesn't matter, you're not coming," Ron stated. _

_"Well you can't control me." _

_"Mum can." _

_"No she ca-" _

_"Guys!" She turned to glare at Hermione._

She brought her legs out from underneath her and dangled them over the sides, listening intently.

"Stop arguing guys, we need to go." She rolled her eyes, though no one could see her. Though she almost wished they could.

Their conversation continued on for awhile, and she just stared into the night, into the black silk. It seemed to catch her, like a net, and not let go. If only the three below her were the same way.

She heard an owl hoot loudly from behind her. Harry and Ron took no notice, but Hermione looked straight up, right into her face. Hermione looked down again, as if not seeing anything. She turned to see if their really was an owl, and saw Hedwig's silhouette. Had she, too, come to watch them depart? Was she worried that she would never see them again? That they would fade away into the black silk?

Hermione suddenly glanced up, and locked eyes with her. They just stared at each other for a moment, and she saw Hermione bite her lip. _Sorry,_ her face seemed to say, at least from what she could make out it in the night. _I wish we didn't have to leave you behind. _

_Then take me with you! _She wanted to scream. But she held her tongue. She sighed, and broke the stare, turning her head the other way. She couldn't bare it. It was too hard to have them walk away without her.

The wind whistled, and she closed her eyes. She knew it wasn't fair, and that it would probably never be. She knew that they supposedly had her well-being at heart, even though they had taken the wrong turn a long while ago, and were heading the opposite way. She also knew that with the rising of the sun the black silk would fade, but only for a little while. In fact, it would never truly disappear. Not until the task ahead of the three people talking in hushed whispers at the moment, who happened to be emotionally and physically close to her, was complete. For now, it only held its façade of being banished by the sun to even the odds, and give the world a bit of a fairer chance of surviving the evil, via hope.

_Pop. Pop. _She opened her eyes, and looked down where her three friends were. _Were._ Now only one stood there, and she glanced up one last time at her friend before leaving as well.

_Pop. _

That was it, they were gone. She lay down, her back flat on the roof, and stared up. There were the stars again, twinkling down on her. But they no longer teased her, but gave her their pity. She turned her eyes away from them. She did not want their pity. _But why should I care?_ She asked herself. After all, they weren't stars, as much as jewels, on a sheet of black silk.

* * *

**So, I wrote this some months ago. It was my first-ever one shot, and I sort of like it. Review?**


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